Comeback

Momoshiro stood on the baseline and tossed the ball high. He swung the arm holding his racket with all his strength, unleashing his signature Bullet Serve.

When Kisarazu Jun of St. Rudolph received it, he felt the ball's tremendous force and furrowed his brows as he sent it back.

Kaitou read the return's trajectory and immediately moved sideways to intercept it at the net. St. Rudolph's other player, Yanagisawa Shinya, reacted quickly.

Seeing the open space behind Kaitou, he sent a high lob to the backcourt.

"Hey, headband! Your defense is way too wide open."

Yanagisawa had barely finished speaking when a dark figure shot out from behind Kaitou.

Before he could call for Kisarazu Jun to retreat and defend, Momoshiro leaped up and unleashed a Vertical Smash.

The two St. Rudolph players were clearly startled by Momoshiro's sudden Vertical Smash. They hadn't expected Momoshiro and Kaitou to work so well together, especially when they'd been arguing before the match even started.

But their moment of shock didn't last long. Momoshiro and Kaitou's bickering quickly brought Kisarazu and Yanagisawa back to reality.

"Your smash was too shallow. You hit it that close? Are you trying to let them return it?"

"You're one to talk. If you're at the net, then defend properly."

"Damn it... What did you say?"

"You little—"

Watching the two start arguing again, the Seigaku team members on the sidelines could only sigh helplessly.

Thinking back to when they'd been first-years, they were used to it by now.

"Seigaku scores. The score is 1–0."

Momoshiro and Kaitou soon won a point. St. Rudolph's Second Doubles pair couldn't find a weakness in their play, much to their frustration, but one thing hadn't changed: the two kept bickering.

In the end, even the umpire couldn't stand it any longer. The match only continued after he told them to stop.

The two were clearly unhappy about being scolded, so they took their anger out on St. Rudolph.

Thwack...

"St. Rudolph scores. The score is 1–1."

Thwack...

"Seigaku scores. The score is 2–1."

With a smash from Momoshiro, Seigaku won another point.

The match went on, with the two sides trading shots.

Suddenly, as Yanagisawa prepared to return the ball, he changed his swing and played a drop shot.

The ball landed toward Kaitou's backhand. Seeing this, Momoshiro and Kaitou both raised their brows.

"Was that a coincidence...? But that really is a shot Kaitou doesn't like..."

Kaitou barely managed to return it, but the drop shot turned into a lob. At the baseline, Momoshiro saw Kisarazu preparing to smash.

He immediately told Kaitou to retreat to the backcourt while he defended the net.

Seeing the change, Kisarazu immediately twisted his body, turning his smash into a short lob. Momoshiro could only hurry to move across the net.

Meanwhile, to prevent Momoshiro from defending head-on, Yanagisawa moved directly in front of him. Momoshiro had no choice but to send the ball in the opposite direction.

But it was as if they'd guessed where it was going. As soon as the ball bounced, Kisarazu appeared in its path. By the time Momoshiro reacted, it was too late.

Kisarazu aimed at the gap in Momoshiro's defense and returned the ball for a point.

Over the next few rallies, St. Rudolph's pair seemed to target Momoshiro and Kaitou's weaknesses, leaving them frustrated and unable to get into their rhythm.

"Momoshiro-senpai can't get a single straight shot or lob through, and Kaitou-senpai is having trouble moving back and forth."

Watching the two on the court, Horio remarked casually, then raised his voice.

"You're so in sync when you argue, but when you play, you let the other guys toy with you, senpai!"

Hearing Horio, the two remained surprisingly calm. During the break, Yanagisawa even came over to provoke them.

"Our manager says he's got your information all figured out. He predicts we'll beat you 6–2. You've already scored two points, so does that mean you've already lost?"

The two stayed silent, fixing their eyes on Yanagisawa as the fighting spirit in their gazes grew stronger.

"You St. Rudolph guys, you can't predict something like tennis. Just wait till you lose."

Back on the court, the two were ready to receive the ball, their focus restored.

But the umpire stopped the match. Mizuki entered the court with a mop.

It turned out Mizuki thought the court was a little dirty and had asked the umpire to let him clean it.

"Damn it, St. Rudolph's manager really is something. Momo and the others finally got into the zone, and he's gone and interrupted them."

"Yeah, they'd only just gotten their fighting spirit back..."

Oishi was furious about Mizuki's behavior, and Kikumaru couldn't help worrying.

"Don't worry, senpai. You can't just switch off someone's fighting spirit."

Horio's lips curled slightly, and he didn't look worried at all.

St. Rudolph had already lost. Once two people who refused to give up got serious, they weren't easy to beat.

"Hey, what are you doing out here, butting in?"

"Heh, sorry. The match was so intense that the court got dirty. See? It looks much better after a quick sweep."

"Then thanks for that. Now that you're done, get out of here."

Mizuki took the mop back to the coaches' seats. After the brief interruption, the match resumed.

"The score is 5–2, St. Rudolph leading. St. Rudolph's Yanagisawa to serve."

Yanagisawa sent over an ordinary serve, and the two Second Doubles pairs began a back-and-forth rally.

The St. Rudolph players kept aiming for positions where Momoshiro and Kaitou were less comfortable, while Momoshiro and Kaitou's skill kept Yanagisawa and Kisarazu barely holding their own.

This continued for a long time. As the shots kept landing in uncomfortable places, Momoshiro and Kaitou gradually grew irritated.

"Heh, information. Does anyone really play exactly according to the information they've gathered? Mizuki, Mizuki... The strategy you thought would guarantee a win is the knife that'll bring St. Rudolph down."

Watching Momoshiro and Kaitou on the verge of losing their tempers, Horio muttered to himself. The others beside him also thought he had a point.

"I'm done watching. Katsuro, Katsuo, I'm going to buy drinks. Want to come?"

"Huh? Horio, you're not going to watch anymore? But the match isn't over yet. There's another one after this—what if we miss it?"

"Momoshiro-senpai and the others won't lose like this. As for Oishi-senpai and the others... It's getting hotter, and that'll be a challenge for Kikumaru-senpai. But it won't take long just to buy drinks."

"Then... okay. I hope we get back before Momo-senpai and the others finish."

With a good idea of how things would go, Horio took his two friends to buy drinks. Meanwhile, Momoshiro and Kaitou were getting more and more fired up on the court.

"This still isn't enough. The match has only just begun. Hey, Kaitou, you really aren't going to use your snake shot?"

"None of your business. Worry about yourself."

"Whenever you get ready to hit a snake shot, those two start doing something. Looks like they've been practicing against it for a long time. You're not afraid they'll return your snake shot, are you?"

"Quit nagging..."

Then Kaitou seemed to make up his mind and headed toward the backcourt.

Seeing Kaitou move to the backcourt, Momoshiro understood. A formation with both players at the back appeared...